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Like everyone around the world, we are deeply saddened and angered by Putin’s war on Ukraine. In the midst of this humanitarian disaster, you may be looking for ways to help and support those affected, so we have pulled together this information to help you find out how you can take action.

How you can help

Donate what you can

Disasters Emergency Committee

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) have brought together 15 leading UK aid charities including Oxfam, Save the Children UK and British Red Cross to support with the disaster. DEC charities and their local partners are in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries providing food, water, shelter and medical assistance.

  • £10 could provide 1 person hygiene supplies for a month
  • £50 could provide blankets for 4 families
  • £100 could provide food for 2 families for a month

Donate to the DEC here

Learn More and Educate Others

Building your knowledge will enable you to understand what is going on and engage in taking action in a meaningful way.

  • Read up about what is going on in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
  • Level-up your understanding of why this war is happening.
  • Ensure you find out what the short and long-term consequences are for the people of Ukraine, Russia, and neighbouring countries.
  • Find out more about the international response, treatment of refugees, and sanctions.

Here are some useful free sources, all these media sites have Ukraine topic pages with a variety of articles: BBC News, The Guardian, The New York Times, ITV News.

Write to your MP

  1. Check who your MP is by using this easy search tool (for Bath, our MP is Wera Hobhouse) https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons
  2. Once you know who they are, you can then choose how to contact them. All MPs can be contacted by post or by email. You can only write to your own MP(s) so students can contact the MP for Bath, or their MP in their home constituency.
  3. Using your knowledge of the Ukraine crisis, ask your MP to do more to push the Government to support Ukraine and the victims of this war. You may want them to push the Government to do more to enable refugees to enter the country more easily, further sanction Russia, or provide more support to Ukraine.
  4. In all cases, you should receive a message back from your MP with their own thoughts on the issue. They may say why they agree or disagree with you or explain how they have raised the issue in parliament. Your MP may forward your message to a government minister and ask for a response.

Attend Events and Sign Petitions

Attend Events

  • Demonstrations are a powerful way to show desire for change or support for a cause.
  • Look out for opportunities to join rallies, protests and Vigils that demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine.
  • Do not under-estimate the impact of showing up to an in-person demonstration. The more people that turn up, the harder it is to ignore.

Sign & Share Petitions

  • Look out for petitions that are calling for more support for Ukraine and the refugees.
  • When petitions get enough signatures, the issue has to be debated in Parliament.
  • See current petitions here: https://petition.parliament.uk/

Look after yourself

At times like these, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed. And while you may be thinking about the sad events occuring in Ukraine, you must also ensure you looking after yourself.

Clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn says it's something we often do when faced with uncertainty, but instead of filling in the gaps with useful information, we can end up catastrophising.

"The way we seek clarity is to look for more information, but that often creates less clarity, cause we're seeing the same information again and again and it doesn't allow us to step back.”

University Support

The University has a dedicated support page for those affected here.

 

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